Newegg Opens Business to the UK and Australia
by Ian Cutress on April 16, 2014 10:38 AM EST
As a consumer, more competition can be a good thing. Competition in manufacturing brings innovation and might help drive core pricing down, whereas competition in selling pits retailers against each other to see who will accept the lowest profit margin. In the US, Newegg is a big name when it comes to computer components and pre-built PCs, but also sells hand blenders, sporting goods and toys. It also allows third-party sellers to get in on the act, and as such you can navigate to Newegg to purchase a dust pan and brush.
For users outside the US, sometimes Newegg’s deals seem almost ridiculous. Part of that is because of the different tax regime, but sometimes there are US only parts (laptops spring to mind) that are unavailable elsewhere. Back at Mobile World Congress in February, I met with Newegg. I was told (with glee) that Newegg would be coming to Europe and other regions over the course of the next few months. Last week the official announcement was made: Newegg is now selling to the UK and Australia. If I log in to Newegg today I can get UK pricing:
All promotional codes I can find seem to work with any UK purchase. There are some initial downsides, mostly related to import tax. The price you see on the product page is not necessarily the price you pay.
In the UK, when importing goods from outside of Europe, the government (via the postal service) will levy up to a 20% tax plus an admin fee. For those in the US, normally the price we see is the price we pay in the UK, so that might come as a shock to UK buyers. Eligible items will show as above with the pricing and an ‘add to cart’. Shipping, as you might imagine coming from the US, is not free. But moving through to the checkout adds the following:
As you see here, the K6000 is normally £3500, but reduced to £2989.90 due to a Newegg sale. The tax and duty comes to £600.37, with £13.94 shipping and discount code brings the total to £3544.40, just above the original price. The way Newegg will work is that they will charge the consumer in advance for taxes and duties so that items will not be held in customs and delivery targets can be met. Hopefully this will be met by the delivery services and any discrepancies will not cause issues to the buyer. I notice that tax from the shipping cost is not taken into account. I have been charged tax on shipping to the UK before, and I discussed this with Newegg. Newegg stated that the aim is to include all the costs at the point of sale, such that items are quickly sent through to the buyer.
Distance selling is stage one of Newegg’s expansion, with further stages to come. These stages should be centered around selling to the rest of Europe, as well as locating a warehouse in the region. Newegg has not given me any definite indication of what the plans are or timeframe for such plans, but the end goal is to bring what is sold in the US to the global market.
One question that I have seen asked since this news was released is whether the market (in the UK at least) needs another retailer. This goes double for one aiming to sell long distance. Without a specific deal at Newegg, most items (or the several I had looked at) work out around the same price (due to taxes) but take a few days longer to post, and thus it makes more sense to purchase locally. For those rare items that we cannot get in the UK, at least there is now an outlet. But with SCAN, OverclockersUK, Aria, Dabs, eBuyer and even Amazon in the mix, it might be hard for Newegg to gain a profitable foothold beyond distance selling.
Currently Newegg is offering a small selection through the website, with aims to expand the offering during the course of 2014. This will include access to Rosewill, Newegg’s in-house brand. More information can be found via Newegg’s blog post about the expansion.
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charleski - Thursday, April 17, 2014 - link
Well, a quick survey shows the following results for the K6000: (prices include all taxes)Scan: £4296.76
Amazon.uk: £4046.50
Dabs: Doesn't have the K6000, but is selling the previous-gen 6GB FX6000 for £3536.84
So even with the import duties, their price seems pretty good. The big issue is support, though.
StevoLincolnite - Thursday, April 24, 2014 - link
Probably no Australian warehouse either.Still probably best for the Aussies to stick to PC Case Gear who are cheap enough, super fast shipping (You get it in a day or two, I've had stuff arrive the same day even!) and great customer service.
Most enthusiasts I know in various Australian PC centric forums prefer it over alternatives.
ShaftedByHaswell - Wednesday, April 16, 2014 - link
Ian,the duty tariff on most computer parts has been reduced to 0.00% since the late nineties of the last millenium. if your government levies duties on you, you should find yourself a lawyer and take legal action as the EU signed the ITA agreement in the WTO :
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/inftec_e/itain...
Information Technology Agreement
The ITA provides for participants to completely eliminate duties on IT products covered by the Agreement.
Are you sure you are referring to regular duties and not some peculiar rule applicable to small parcels not containing the proper harmonized tariff codes?
Please see also the following reference :
http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-UnitedKingdom/...
Obviously if Newegg invoices do not contain the proper information….it can be a burden to proof to customs the right category….
You may be aware that although your government collects the duties most of it is sent to the EU as a contribution………….
elmicker - Wednesday, April 16, 2014 - link
It's a value-added tax, not an import duty. Hence the spot-on 20% estimate.And almost none of it goes to the EU.
ShaftedByHaswell - Wednesday, April 16, 2014 - link
if it is VAT, it should say "VAT" and have relevant options to (i) deselect or to (ii) mention a VAT number, as the latter category has deductability mechanisms or exemption mechanisms upon importing the goods into the EU.Death666Angel - Wednesday, April 16, 2014 - link
"Estimated Tax & Duty", that's what it says. And depending on the item, it can be both or either. So not sure why having it differently would help anyone.boozed - Wednesday, April 16, 2014 - link
I've always wanted to be able to pay way over the odds for an R9 290!Johnmcl7 - Wednesday, April 16, 2014 - link
That's a big letdown that all they're doing is offering an option to ship over here, what happens with warranty and returns? I don't generally buy items from the US as the price difference is usually shrunk considerably once you add VAT and shipping costs plus the potential hassle of returning the item if it fails as warranties are quite often regional. So I usually only buy rare items from the US that I can't get anywhere and unlikely to need a return which is usually books and films.I tend to buy items from Amazon as their returns are good and their delivery is cheap to the Highlands in Scotland (which many couriers charge a premium for as they class it as a separate island), I was hoping Newegg might stir the market up a bit but it seems not.
John
JustinaWGraves - Thursday, April 17, 2014 - link
I don't generally buy items from the US as the price difference is usually shrunk considerably once you add VAT and shipping costs plus the potential hassle of returning the item if it fails as warranties are quite often regional. So I usually only buy rare items from the US that I can't get anywhere and unlikely to need a return which is usually books and films. http://buyh.tk/wCCommunism - Wednesday, April 16, 2014 - link
The US should just annex NATO already.Lack of free trade between US and NATO (US Controlled Territory) is just hilarious.